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Lonely Rich Kid: Difference between revisions
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A type of [[Sour Grapes Tropes|Sour Grapes Trope]] in which wealthy kids are not allowed to have happy lives without the assistance of the plot, instead being made miserable for no particular reason other than having been born to rich parents. The reason being, of course, to show that it sucks to be rich anyway, by demonstrating how rich kids suffer [[Broken Aesop|for various reasons that have nothing in particular to do with being rich]]. That being said, the easiest way for a writer to justify this one is simple: lots of rich parents got that way because they have [[Married to the Job|no life outside of their career]], and this means a rich parent [[When You Coming Home, Dad?|cuts back on time with the family]]. Plus, rich people are inhumanely cold anyway.
If you're under the age of about 20 or so and your parents [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|have a lot of money]], it's very likely that you have both of the following problems:
* A noticeable shortage of close friends. Reasons for this vary wildly: they either mistake you for a [[Rich Bitch]] or [[Jerk Jock]], are scared of you, or will try to take advantage of your wealth. Maybe you don't have time for them because you're too busy becoming [[Emotionless Girl|icily perfect]] in order to [["Well Done, Son" Guy|win your parents' approval]]. You may be tired of people trying to befriend you or [[Gold Digger|date you]] for your money, so you don't trust anyone. Then again, your parents [[Gilded Cage|may not let you leave home at all,]] especially if you're [[The President's Daughter]].
* Some form of [[Parental Abandonment]]. Mom and Dad will be either a) dead, b) never around, c) [[Parental Neglect|inattentive and uncaring]], d) inhumanly demanding to the exclusion of actual ''parenting'', or e) some combination of these. You will have no siblings to be [[Promotion to Parent|Promoted To Parent]], either. Your [[Big Fancy House]]'s population: you. (Well, you do probably have one or more servants; the [[Old Retainer]] may even act as a [[Parental Substitute]] of sorts, but it's -- not the same.)
This one-two punch serves to ensure that you are isolated. Depending on how much of the first point is your own fault, this may make you [[Loners Are Evil|evil]]. Most likely, though, you just end up being lonely. (This trope seldom overlaps with [[Royal Brat]].)
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* Karen of ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure 5]]''. Her parents are always traveling abroad, and she doesn't even get to see them in the [[Christmas Episode]], despite that being the only time they come home. She does have one friend, Komachi, but manages to isolate herself anyway by being resolutely determined not to open up to her or anyone else.
** Karen's ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure]]'' [[Expy|predecessor]], Honoka, has a nearly identical backstory, but it takes long enough for the series to get into her head that it's hard to say whether she actually fits the trope.
* Minto Aizawa from ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', who initially [[Jumped At the Call]] but refused the built-in gang of [[True Companions]] out of snobbery. She gets better, though, especially when Zakuro shows up and her [[Fan Girl]] side kicks in.
* Christopher "Chris" Thorndyke in ''[[Sonic X]]'', even though his grandfather is around most of the time and he has several friends at school.
* Aversion: Mihama Chiyo out of ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'' is shown as by far the richest of the girls, and has other reasons that she'd be isolated ... and is of course one of the happiest and most well-liked of her class. Not insanely happy, but generally [[Cheerful Child|cheerful]]. Granted, the audience never sees her parents, but they're never implied to be ''gone'', just offscreen.
** Her dad seems to enjoy his life as an extradimensional talking cat secret agent who may or may not be [[media:s_true_identity.jpg|Santa Claus]].
* Extra points for ''[[Great Teacher Onizuka]]''. Nanako's parents started out poor and nice and became less pleasant as they got rich. The protagonist solves the family problem without bankrupting them, however. With a sledgehammer.
** A number of characters including Urumi and Miyabi fit the bill as well. While their parents aren't gone {{spoiler|except Urumi, who doesn't know her father as anything more than a sperm donor}}, they're emotionally detached from them to the point they act out. Granted they have more issues than just this trope, but ''GTO'' prefers a cornucopia of issues for its characters.
* Murasaki Kujoin from ''[[Kure-nai]]'' is born into a very rich family, but at the cost of being locked away from the outside world for the rest of her life {{spoiler|to eventually bear her older brother's children}}.
* Kaito Doumoto of ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' is popular at school and has an [[Instant Fanclub]], and hides his lonely brooding behind the mask of a carefree joker instead of a standoffish loner like most of these examples. His parents died in a storm at sea, leaving him with a vast amount of money, and he doesn't like to talk about it. It's only Lucia's perseverance and [[Loves My Alter Ego|his growing suspicion that she might be the mermaid he's looking for]] that allows him to eventually open up to her.
** You think he's bad? Check out Michal Amagi, an [[Ill Girl]] whose [[Big Brother Instinct|older brother Rihito]] is pretty much the only person she talks to. Although he pours his riches into making her happy, she's so desperate and depressed that [[Heroic Self-Deprecation|she thinks that he's wasting his energy on her]]. When Kaito shows her genuine kindness, she goes all-out [[Clingy Jealous Girl]], throwing herself at him, practically chaining him to her mansion, and [[Amnesia Danger|ready and willing to do anything to keep him from remembering Lucia.]] Her [[Freak-Out]] when he decides to move back home is ''both'' profoundly creepy and heartbreaking.
* Mawata Awayuki from the anime ''[[Prétear]]'' is a subversion of sorts, in that at first she seems to be lonely for no particular reason: her family is with her, but she distances herself from them; she is popular at school, but doesn't seem to have close friends. It's only later in the series that the ''real'' reasons for her loneliness are revealed -- not only she was quite affected by her father's demise when she was a little girl, she just doesn't think people can understand her true feelings, and so is unwilling to open up to anyone. {{spoiler|Of course, her issues remain unnoticed long enough to turn into a real problem, when the [[Big Bad]] seizes her and turns her into a [[Dark Magical Girl]]}}.
* Tianzi from ''[[Code Geass]]''. Being the figurehead Empress of China meant that she was like a bird in a [[Gilded Cage]], except the cage was the Imperial Palace and she couldn't properly rule over her country, which was oppressed by her [[Evil Chancellor|Evil Chancellors]] (who also wanted to either [[Arranged Marriage|marry her off to a much older man]] or get her killed and replaced. Still, she had a devoted protector in [[The Ace]] of the series [[I Owe You My Life|whom she once saved from execution]], so...
* Both Ami Mizuno and Rei Hino in ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' (specially the manga), until they join the Senshi.
* The entire main cast of the anime ''[[Special A]]'' qualifies thanks to various relationship traumas during their childhood.
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED]]'''s [[Ace Pilot]] and [[Big Brother Mentor]] Mu La Flaga was one of these as a child, courtesy of being rejected and disowned by his father, {{spoiler|who had himself cloned in order to produce a more worthy heir}}. Also, Flay Alster starts as one of them, as her father George is an important politician whom she barely gets to see and her mother died when she was a little girl.
* Ai Shinozaki, the [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] Ojou from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]''. Lampshaded when she reveals her loneliness {{spoiler|that led her to be possessed by a demon}} to Makoto and Nuubee and says it's one of the reasons is how she can't make true friends.
* Relena Darlian from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing]]'' is quite popular at her high-class school but doesn't seem to have any real friends at first, just admirers and would-be suitors. She seems to be aware of her Lonely Rich Kid condition, too, and while she's polite to the other kids she doesn't approach them either. Even her beloved father is (unwillingly) distant due to his ''extremely'' demanding job. At first, her only friend seems to be her grandfatherly butler/chauffeur Pagan... until she meets [[The Stoic]] [[Hitman with a Heart]] protagonist and her life starts changing.
* Hazuki Fujiwara from ''[[Ojamajo Doremi]]''. Her father is a famous movie director and her mother is a popular fashion designer, but as much as they ''do'' genuinely care for her, they're so absorbed in their work that Hazuki's more usual companions are her landlady and the other Ojamajo.
** The local [[Alpha Bitch]], Reika Tamaki, also hits this trope to some degree. Her dad spoils her because he doesn't want to make her cry, but that shapes her into a spoiled Alpha Bitch [[Heroic BSOD|who has a complete emotional meltdown]] when she starts doubting if her dad ''really'' loves her.
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* Nagi Sanzennin from ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' pretty much gets hit full force by all aspects of this trope. Her parents are mentioned sometimes, but are practically nonexistent (both of them died when she was little). She's hesitant to even go outside her own house because every time she does, somebody tries to kidnap her for her wealth. Pretty much her only friends are fellow [[Lonely Rich Kid|Lonely Rich Kids]], the servants she keeps around (including Hayate), and her pet tiger Tama.
** {{spoiler|Athena Tennos}} is another, ''specially'' in her backstory {{spoiler|More exactly, when she kicks Hayate out after their fight, but almost immediately falls into despair due to being magically locked in a [[Gilded Cage]]-like mansion.}}
* Amy from ''[[IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix|IGPX]]'', although later her parents manage to make time for her.
* Himeko Shirogane/Princess from ''[[Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z]]''.
* The F4 boys from ''[[Hana Yori Dango]]'' display this trope in ''very'' different ways.
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** Nishikado Sohjirou seems at first to be immune from this, but as more of his home life is revealed, he is shown to have parents who are highly emotionally distant and an older brother who abandoned the family business, leaving him to be [[The Dutiful Son]]. This is [[Freudian Excuse|assumed to be the cause of his inability]] [[Casanova|to develop lasting relationships]].
** Mimasaka Akira seems to be the only member immune from this despite that, at least in the j-Drama, his father is a [[Yakuza]] boss. In all incarnations, having a mother who acts like an [[Adult Child]] seems to be why he [[Likes Older Women]].
* Sumire Kanzaki in ''[[Sakura Taisen]]''. Her father and grandfather were so absorbed into work that she was left emotionally scarred and doubtful about their love for her. {{spoiler|Reversed later, when her dad appears and is revealed to be a rather decent guy otherwise and even apologizes to Sumire for not being able to spend more time with her. She forgives him.}}.
** However, there's a rich kid who's even ''more'' lonely in the group: Vicomtesse Iris Chateaubriand. Her parents were so scared of her enormous [[Psychic Powers]] that they locked her away in her fancy bedroom, and her only company were her dolls and teddies until Ayame Fujieda recruited her; Iris became [[Shrinking Violet|extremely withdrawn and scared of everyone]] as a consequence, holding on her teddybear Jean-Claude as a [[Security Blanket]]. The anime episode where her backstory is revealed and the troupe struggles to give Iris her first birthday party ever is one of the biggest [[Tear Jerker|Tear Jerkers]] in the series.
* In ''[[Captain Tsubasa]]'', El Si Pierre is the son of a French nobleman and tycoon who is ''not'' willing to have others treating him like a [[The White Prince|a frail White Prince]], like it happened in his early years (some manga panels show young Pierre sitting with his books while the kids around him seem too scared to get close). So, to prove to others that he's just like them and he doesn't want any privileges, Pierre starts practising soccer.
** Similarly, Mark Owairan is a ''real'' Arabian prince who spent several years locked inside his father's palace and discovered soccer only when he went out of his [[Gilded Cage]] with his bodyguards and saw a bunch of children playing in the streets. He's so fascinated that he begins training and playing, rising to the top thanks to his own merits and not to his family's influences.
* Tatsuki Iizuka from ''[[Hyakko]]''.
* This is [[Rich Bitch]] Mayu Miyuki's [[Freudian Excuse]] in ''[[Ai Yori Aoshi]]''.
* Kunugi-tan from ''[[Binchou Tan]]''.
* Kuno from ''[[Ranma ½|[[Ranma
* Isabella from ''[[Paradise Kiss]]'' was raised by her butler, and also had the issues you'd expect from a little [[Ojou]] [[Transsexualism|trapped in a little rich boy's body]].
* The truth is that most to all of the Ushiromiya cousins from ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' probably could qualify for this - they all (except for George, {{spoiler|and even he runs into some issues when he wants to marry [[Meido|Shannon]]}}) seem to have rather strained relationships with their parents, who in turn have issues with their ''own'' father. However, as far as outright [[Parental Abandonment]] is concerned, Ange probably gets the truckload - by the time we meet her, her entire family {{spoiler|save one}} is dead.
** {{spoiler|And said remaining relative, George's [[Rich Bitch]] mother Eva, was hardly the best caregiver, due to Bernkastel's intervention ''and'' her [[Silent Scapegoat]] position.}} Ange is also very isolated at school; unusually, it's not so much because she's rich (since it's a boarding school for rich girls), but because [[All of the Other Reindeer|her classmates]] don't like her gloomy personality.
* Serge Battour in ''[[Kaze to Ki no Uta]]'', who is also a [[Heartwarming Orphan]]. His [[Boys Love|love interest]] [[Yaoi Guys|Gilbert]] is also one of these, but that's [[Break the Cutie|the least of his problems]].
* In ''[[Tona Gura]]'', Nina Isokawa is a sweet but annoying example, and as a result is very devoted to her friends, the Arisakas and Kaguras. Her extreme early-bloomer bustiness freaks Yuuji out, but at no time does he try and exploit her obvious crush on him. Her [[Genki Girl]] nature always freaks Marie out.
* Usami from ''[[Junjou Romantica]]'', until meeting Hiroki. His mother is shown as highly distant, father more or less not present, and his half-brother constantly jealous of him.
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* Takiko Okuda aka Genbu no Miko from ''[[Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden]]''.
** Also Hotohori, as the son of the former Emperor of Konan and his mistress/the local [[Gold Digger]]. He later is orphaned and becomes [[The Emperor]] himself, which makes him ''even lonelier'' - so he latches on the legend of the Suzaku No Miko and falls for Miaka when she treats him as a person and not as the leader of the country.
* Hiroko "Hiro-chan" Kaizuka from ''[[Narutaru]]'' is particularly a tragic case. Her [[Abusive Parents|parents]] cared more for her grades in school than her emotional well-being (although her bullies wanted to lower her learning curve) and her father cut ties with her only friends. So it's no wonder the [[Beware the Nice Ones|girl]] [[Yandere (disambiguation)|snapped]] once they and her bullies [[Break the Cutie|broke her]] and she {{spoiler|went on a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] and kills [[Self-Made Orphan|both her parents]] ''and'' her bullies.}}
* Sanka Rea of ''[[Sanka Rea]]'' has a ''massive'' list of problems. It says a lot that dying and coming back as a zombie is an '''''improvement'''''.
* An episode of the first [[Detective Conan]] season brings up the kidnapping and murder of a highschool girl named Naoko Takei, who happened to be Shinichi and Ran's classmate. She was [[Shrinking Violet|the shy and quiet daughter]] of a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], and in one of the dubs Shinichi/Conan ''literally'' refers to her as "that poor little rich girl". {{spoiler|It turns out Naoko is alive; her captor was her dad's [[Sexy Secretary]] Akiko Hanai, who never intended to kill her... but wanted to punish Mr. Takei, who [[Pater Familicide|drove her dad to kill himself, her mother, and her little brother Masahito]] after causing the family's monetary ruin. Takei was actually such a [[Jerkass]] that he didn't really care for poor Naoko's safety, having given a ransom money ''that was all fake''... which Akiko brutally calls him out on when she tries to kill him ''and'' herself as revenge. She even states that she probably would've abandoned the whole plan if he had cared enough to use real money. And in a glorious payback moment, as soon as she was released Naoko ignored her father calling out to her, ran to Akiko ''and forgave her'' for everything, leaving Takei with his hands empty.}}
** Shinichi himself may count to a degree. His parents do love him, but they spend much more time in the USA than in Japan and, until he got shrunk and went to live with the Mouris, they left him alone in their [[Big Fancy House]].
* Oz from [[Pandora Hearts]] is this in spades.
* Usui from [[Kaichou wa Maid-sama]].
* Tamaki from [[Ouran]]. Double because he's {{spoiler|an [[Heroic Bastard]] as well.}}
* Tomoko Saeki's [[Freudian Excuse]] in ''[[DNA
* Farnese from ''[[Berserk]]''. Her older siblings were generations apart, her father was always away on business, and her mother took no role in parenting since she was always out partying. Thus, Farnese developed some, [[Pyromaniac|problems]] ([[A Date with Rosie Palms|and urges]]) due to a sense of [[Parental Abandonment]], and would terrorize her servants and kill pets that didn't reach her expectations. This wasn't made any better when she was given a military position whose [[Knight Templar|purpose was to]] [[Kill It with Fire|burn people at the stake...]]
* Syaoran from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''.
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== Literature ==
* [[Teen Genius]] [[Villain Protagonist]] ''[[Artemis Fowl]]'' fits this quite well, though his lack of friends seems to be by choice, and {{spoiler|his [[Parental Abandonment]] is actually remedied as the series goes on.}}
** Played straight in the beginning of the ''Artemis Fowl'' series, but increasingly averted as the series progresses. Oh yes, and the reason he was hunting fairies in the first place was to rebuild the lost family fortune, for the expressed purpose of locating his missing father. {{spoiler|Which he finally succeeds at in the Arctic Incident.}}
* Holden Caulfield in ''The Catcher in the Rye''.
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** Harry himself - he's very wealthy, but the tragedy just rolls on and on and on, especially when it comes to [[Parental Abandonment]]. Not only do ALL his parental figures end up dead, but his illusions about them are also shattered. Poor Harry's forced to face their past sins and suffer for them even when they don't seem bothered by them at all.
** Sirius Black - also from a very wealthy family, but clearly had a terrible home life and ended up running away at the age of 16. His [[Heterosexual Life Partner]] is murdered when they're still very young and he spends almost his entire adult life in prison for the murder, even though he didn't commit it. {{spoiler|And then he dies.}} Judging from the memories Harry sees, he had a cruel streak and helped his best friend bully other students, and apparently his popularity was primarily based in shallowness and his friendship with James. We also know that he didn't trust Lupin during their years in the Order together, and that ''no one'', including Dumbledore, argued in his defense when he was arrested for James' murder. This implies that James was his only true friend until after he escaped Azkaban. There certainly didn't seem to be anyone else in his life that he could rely on.
*** It's not that no one spoke up in his defence - it's that ''no one got the chance''. Barty Crouch ordered Sirius sent to Azkaban without a trial, so Sirius had no chance to say it was Pettigrew who betrayed them. Dumbledore also probably didn't know Sirius was innocent in the first place - his actions in book 3 imply that Sirius' story was all new to him, and Sirius and the Potters told no one else they switched Secret Keepers. All we know for sure is that Dumbledore first cast the charm that made Sirius the Secret Keeper, but he wasn't necessarily involved in changing the Secret Keeper to Pettigrew.
** Draco Malfoy - despite being a racist bully, it can't be denied that he gets most of that smugness battered out of him in the later books. Parental abandonment in the form of imprisonment, and he never seems to have any close friends that he considers his equal.
* Danny Saunders in [[The Chosen]] isn't rich but he does have a prestigous father and he is the ultimate in loneliness.
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* Brett Aspinall from ''[[Waterloo Road]]'', at least when he was first introduced.
* Greg from ''[[Dharma and Greg]]'' had this kind of childhood.
* As mentioned, most of the F4 from ''[[Hana Yori Dango]]'', despite the fact that [[True Companions|their mutual friendship]] would seem to make them immune from the loneliness aspect.
* Olive Snook from ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' had this type of childhood.
* This was how Summer Landsdown from ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' was until her butler died in her arms trying to get into the city of Corinth.
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* Steve Wilde from ''[[Running Wilde]]'' was not only a lonely rich kid, he grew into a lonely rich adult.
* Martin from the Swedish TV series ''Ebba och Didrik''.
* Stevie Van Lowe on ''[[The Parkers]]'' had this type of childhood. She frequently says that the help were better parents than her own mom and dad who didn't spend any time with her. She's quite bitter about it and would have been a [[Rich Bitch]] if she didn't have her friends and school to fall back on.
* Henry Mills from ''Once Upon a Time'' is described by Regina as "not having any friends and being kind of a loner."
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* Parodied in [http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060929 this] ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' strip.
* Head cheerleader Alexandra King from ''[[Cheer]]''. Makes her cling fiercely to to her fellow cheerleaders now and implied to be what made her a bullying [[Jerk Jock]] back when [[Gender Bender|she was a boy.]]
* In ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'', Rahan, Quentyn's childhood bully and minor nemesis, is implied to be this, despite his toadies and hangers-on.
* Mia of [http://www.tnemrot.com/ Tnemrot] is [http://www.tnemrot.com/?p=29 ignored by her father] and so isolated the only friend she has is a teenage boy she met the day before. Despite this, she has no problems with sending him into a fight to the death.
** She's also willing to [http://www.tnemrot.com/?p=52 sleep next to] someone with a [http://www.tnemrot.com/?p=32 long list of kills] to her name with no trouble.
* Niccolo in ''[[Boy Aurus]]'' due to his father's riches being from organized crime.
* Ashley Madder in ''[[Tales Of Gnosis College]]'' has a wealthy (and thuggish) Senator for a father who regards her as an ornament to his political career. She seems to have trouble making real friends and acts out.
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== Web Original ==
* Jonas from ''[[Lonelygirl15]]''. He lives in a big house, which he has all to himself, because his parents vanished at sea. He has no close friends prior to meeting the protagonists, and you get the impression that he's very lonely. He soon joins their circle of friends and becomes both a central character and a love interest for another central character.
* Seiki from ''[[Sailor Nothing]]'' lost his parents at an early age, and is now pathologically afraid of being alone. He isn't a loner, but otherwise fits the trope to a tee.
* Cassidy Cain in ''[[Grandmaster of Theft]]'' fits. Her own is self-inflicted by her perfectionism, choosing to spend far more time worrying about self-mastery needed to be a [[Magnificent Bitch]] than getting close to many people.
* [[The Nostalgia Chick]] grew up in the richer part of Tennessee and got spoiled enough to become a bit of a [[Gold Digger]], but she was also felt isolated and abused.
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== Music ==
* The premise of the [[Britney Spears]] song "Lucky."
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** Fortunately, one benefit of a {{spoiler|[[Heel Face Turn]]}} is acquiring lots of ''new'' friends.
** [[All There in the Manual|Supplementary information]] indicates that not only [[Cute Bruiser|Toph Beifong]] was kept hidden from the world and confined to her parent's estate, but her parents left the bulk of her actual care/interaction to servants. No wonder she sneaked out enough to become defending champion at the local pitfights.
** [["Well Done, Son" Guy|Zuko]]. [[Missing Mom|Zuko]]. [[The Unfavorite|Zuko]]. [[Cosmic Plaything|Zuko]]. [[The Woobie|Zuko]]. Enough said.
* From ''[[Adventure Time]]'', we have Princess Bubbegum's son, Lemongrab. He's royal, lives in a castle (presumably very wealthy), and completely socially isolated. Apparently, Princess Bubblegum stuck him in a place called "Castle Lemongrab" after she made him. He's the result of a science experiment gone wrong, and has more than a few mental and emotional "quirks," to put it nicely. He doesn't have any friends, he's almost always unhappy (unless he's eating a particularly good meal,) and doesn't get along with anybody. Presumably, this is an exceedingly lonely lifestyle that has a very negative effect on him.
* Alexis on ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (TV series)|Legion of Super Heroes]]'' is an unapologetically spoiled [[Rich Bitch]] celebrity who seems to hate other kids as much as they hate her. Still, she confesses to Superman that she just wants to have friends and [[I Just Want to Be Normal|be normal]], not the richest girl in the galaxy. It turns out she ''really'' never learned to take 'no' for an answer, though: When Superman makes it clear he can't just drop everything and spend time with her whenever she wants, she figures the solution is donning a suit of [[Powered Armor]] to [[Murder the Hypotenuse|kill all of Superman's friends in the Legion to eliminate the competition]]. And then, in the end, she realizes that she ''doesn't'' want to be normal after all, and that being a supervillain is her true calling. Er, yay for a happy ending? {{spoiler|It's shown on her prison uniform the name Luthor}}.
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